


Revelations

by Laura81



Category: American Actor RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-23
Updated: 2013-03-23
Packaged: 2017-12-06 04:32:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/731459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laura81/pseuds/Laura81
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone thinks Kate hates Jeri Ryan, but how does she really feel? Voyager is ending and Kate is going to need to figure out what - and who - she really wants.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Revelations

**Disclaimer:**   This is ACTORFIC, a work of FICTION. Repeat, NONE of this is REAL. None of this EVER happened. It is written purely in fun, not intended to disparage either actress. It is strictly from my fantasy world, so if you don’t like the idea of Kate Mulgrew and Jeri Ryan having lesbian sex and wanting to be together then DO NOT READ THIS! If you do read this despite these warnings and you’re against this sort of thing then maybe you need to think about why you’re reading it. 

Written September 2005

 

“We have to stop this,” Jeri stammered out as Kate continued to kiss her down her leonine neck.

 

“No, we don’t,” Kate, whispered back, her voice throaty and incredibly deep with lust.

 

Jeri moaned in surrender as Kate continued her pleasurable assault on her body. She had no resistance at all to Kate when her voice was so coloured by desire; Kate knew that.

 

“Someone could walk in,” she tried.

 

Kate currently had all six feet of her body pressed up against the wall in her trailer. She had only come over here to talk to Kate about what they were doing…hadn’t she?

 

She moaned again, slightly louder this time, when Kate grabbed one of her breasts and pinched the nipple hard.

 

“No one’s going to walk in.”

 

Kate wasted no further time, opening Jeri’s robe and tasting her erect nipple. She massaged it with her teeth as her tongue danced across the tip of it, causing Jeri to groan in pleasure repeatedly. She slipped her hands down Jeri’s body, caressing every inch of flesh as she went, stopping between her thighs.

 

_She’s so soft_ Kate mused to herself as she gently stroked Jeri’s quivering thighs. Her mouth attached itself to Jeri’s other nipple and she swiftly entered Jeri with two, probing fingers.

 

Jeri gasped loudly, surprised and deeply aroused at the sudden intrusion. Kate was so desperate for her today; she had never been this desperate since their first time. She wondered at what the cause might be briefly, but quickly forgot how to think of anything but what Kate was doing to her as the fingers inside her started a slow, steady pace.

 

“Oh God, Kate! You have no idea what you do to me,” Jeri rasped, her own voice now deep with unconcealed need.

 

Kate released the nipple she was feasting on and chuckled throatily, “Oh, I think I have some idea, you’re saturated.” With a growl she inserted a third finger to prove her point.

 

Jeri’s legs nearly gave out. Kate was stronger then she looked and braced her against the wall with her other arm and her body pressing up and into Jeri’s. Kate flicked her thumb over Jeri’s clit, which in turn caused Jeri to scream out. Kate caught Jeri’s scream in her own mouth before it had a chance to escape far. She was sure no one would walk in, but if Jeri started screaming she could make no guarantees then. They would think she was killing her probably. She smiled inwardly at herself, if people only knew the real nature of their relationship.

 

She didn’t have time to further ponder that though as the body pressed against her own started to grind itself against her hand. She shoved her tongue into Jeri’s mouth and Jeri immediately reciprocated, the tongues duelling with each other, fighting for dominance, which Kate eventually won. She started to pump in and out of Jeri fiercely, wanting to take this woman hard, wanting her to feel this orgasm down to the bottom of her toes. Her thumb started a more persistent assault on Jeri’s clit causing Jeri to again scream out in agonized pleasure. Kate had never left her mouth and greedily absorbed the passionate breaths.

 

Jeri’s head was swimming. All she could feel was Kate. Kate inside her, Kate outside her, Kate everywhere. There was nothing else, no one else, her entire existence in this moment centred on Kate Mulgrew. Centred on the thrusting fingers, the insistent thumb, the wet tongue inside her mouth, the hair she had at some point taken into her hand, holding Kate’s mouth in place against her own. She hadn’t remembered grabbing Kate’s hair, but she tried to be careful not to pull it now that she was aware of it. She could feel her orgasm nearing…she was going to scream, loudly.

 

Kate knew Jeri was near the edge. She felt her hot, wet walls start to convulse around her fingers, felt her entire body tense up in anticipation, felt her breaths coming quicker, in shorter and shorter gasps until Jeri screamed into her mouth. Jeri’s internal muscles grabbed Kate’s fingers hard, convulsing around them repeatedly. Kate loved that feeling. Her stroke on Jeri’s clit slowed it’s pace, letting the pressure drop away, slightly easing her fingers out of her and just as she felt Jeri start to come down from her euphoria she plunged her fingers as deep as they would go and started a vicious attack on her clit again.

 

Jeri’s mouth tore away from Kate’s in pleasurable shock at the renewed intrusion, her head flew back and hit the wall hard, but she didn’t notice. She thought she should be screaming, but although her mouth was open nothing was there. She seemed to be frozen in this moment and she swore she saw a blinding white light as the second orgasm tore through her body. When what seemed like an eternity in heaven, but was really only a few seconds had passed, the white light left her vision. She threw her head forward again and met the blue eyes of her lover, which were filled with raw desire, nearly blinding her with their intensity. She felt a scream building up within her and clamped her lips onto Kate’s, letting go only when she was sure no one else would hear her.

 

Ever so slowly she was coming down from the precipice Kate had kept her on. She watched through half lidded eyes as Kate gently removed her fingers and brought them to her mouth, inserting each one and sucking them clean. Jeri groaned at the sight. Feeling started returning to her limbs and she knew she would not be able to hold herself up. Again she was surprised with Kate’s strength as she cradled Jeri against her shorter frame and gently laid her on the nearby couch.

 

“Jesus Christ,” Jeri whispered. Though not their first time she was still constantly finding herself in awe over the power Kate seemed to have over her. It had never been like this with anyone in her past. Never in her wildest dreams did she think it could be like this. The thought should have brought her happiness, but instead it brought her pain and she felt her eyes tear up.

 

_Not now!_ She thought to herself, trying to ward off the tears. Just enjoy this moment you are having with her.

 

She reached out for Kate and Kate was immediately in her arms, holding her and kissing her softly on her lips, cheeks, forehead, throat, neck. Not in an arousing way, but in a way meant to bring comfort and it worked.

 

They laid there like that for a time, but not long enough for either of them before Kate said the inevitable, “We better get up.”

 

Jeri sighed, “What time is it now?” It had been 12:30 when she had come to Kate’s trailer.

 

“One,” Kate answered, starting to disentangle herself from Jeri’s warm body.

 

_Only half an hour_ Jeri thought, god, Kate worked miracles in such a short amount of time. She wanted to pull Kate back to her, but knew it was useless. They were finishing up the last of their scenes on “Endgame” and she knew Kate wanted it over and done with.

 

Oh, Kate loved the show she had worked on the last seven years, she was just sick of all the shit and looked forward to finishing up and getting away from California and America all together for a while. The thought brought Jeri’s tears back to the surface again and she swallowed hard, hoping Kate wasn’t looking at her, but of course Kate was.

 

Kate had already finished rearranging her clothes and was staring at Jeri. She was still lying on the couch, robe hanging open, and tears glistening in her eyes. Kate went to her and tenderly pulled the robe closed around her, lying her hand on Jeri’s now clothed stomach. She carefully sat down on the edge of the couch next to her.

 

“What’s wrong?” she asked, concerned.

 

Jeri locked eyes with Kate, seeing nothing but tenderness and warmth in her eyes. It only made her tear up more and she felt one escape and silently slip down her cheek. Kate reached her hand out and brushed it away.

 

“Tell me,” Kate whispered compassionately.

 

“This is the last day,” Jeri finally managed to get out.

 

Kate nodded.

 

“What…what happens to us after today?”

 

There she had finally asked the question. She had alluded to it before, but never asked it directly, now she had. Now she was more terrified than before. She watched Kate swallow and turn her head away, breaking eye contact. _Oh god, this can’t be good,_ Jeri thought to herself.

 

“Everyone thinks I hate you Jeri. How do you think it would look if they suddenly saw us out together? At the movies, at the theatre, overseas? Christ, even in the same building and heads would spin in shock.”

 

Kate jumped up from the couch and started to pace the room, this wasn’t something she only did as Captain Janeway, no, she was a pacer by birth.

 

Jeri thought back to their first encounter six months ago. Up until then she too had believed Kate hated her. It was that night she learned how truly brilliant an actress Kate really was.

 

They had accidentally bumped into each other at an Alzheimer’s dinner. Jeri had known Kate would be there, but she was accompanying a friend and had just hoped she could avoid her. No such luck though when she walked out of a toilet stall and saw Kate Mulgrew looking back at her in the mirrored wall. She had smiled politely and went to the sink to wash her hands, fully intending to just say a casual hello and then leave, or maybe Kate would just walk out. Kate kept staring at her though, not exactly the reaction Jeri had been expecting. She had no idea of the look on Kate’s face, did not see the desire dripping from her eyes. Nervously Jeri started thinking of possible headlines for tomorrow’s paper: “Mulgrew kills Ryan in public restroom” or “Boiling animosity finally leads to blows for two of Trek’s finest.” Jeri laughed inwardly at herself, she really was being ridiculous she knew, but Kate had always made her nervous, making clear from day one she was not welcome on _her_ show.

 

She felt Kate’s eyes still on her. She turned to dry her hands, feeling Kate’s eyes following her. _What is she doing!_ Her mind yelled at her. Finally, fed up, she turned around to face Kate and gasped out loud at what she saw looking at her. This was unlike any Kate she had ever seen before. Her eyes were smouldering with desire…Jeri quickly glanced around, thinking surely there was someone else in here Kate was looking at like that. Nope, they were the only two in the room. Never had she thought Kate would look at her like that! What the hell was going on? Maybe Kate had a twin no one knew about?

 

“Jeri,” Kate husked, the timbre of her voice deeper then Jeri could ever remember hearing it.

 

She swallowed convulsively before simply replying, “Kate.”

 

There were about fifteen feet between them and Kate stepped forward twice, bridging at least two of those feet.

 

Jeri swallowed again. What the hell was going on here? She felt like Kate was…was…mentally undressing her. Jeri had worn a simple blue dress that went down to her ankles, the material hugging her body like a second skin. Thin straps secured the dress to her body, her back mostly bare. Still, she had worn more provocative things before, though Kate had never been around when she had. She actually couldn’t think of a time when she had been around Kate dressed in anything but her Trek costume or something else from the wardrobe department. There had been the occasional photo shoot Kate had been forced to do with her, but…she stopped her line of thought. Who the hell cared when, why, how? Kate was looking at her like she was dessert right now! This had to be a parallel universe, this couldn’t be real. Kate would snap out of whatever place she was in or maybe someone else would enter the restroom. She looked over Kate’s shoulder at the door.

 

“Waiting for someone?” Kate asked, her voice still husky.

 

Jeri swallowed, _I really have to stop doing that!_ “Uh, no. How about you?”

 

Jeri wanted to slap her forehead. _How about you!_ Christ! Could this get any more uncomfortable? She immediately wished she hadn’t thought that as Kate took another two steps forward. Around ten feet remained between them. Jeri looked Kate up and down, a reflex reaction when trying to look anywhere but into her eyes. Kate was dressed in a black skirt, a tight black skirt, Jeri noticed idly. Her upper body covered in a white silk blouse, the material thick enough to hide any bra line. Her hair was down around her face, a slight hint of lipstick and eye shadow. She really looked quite beautiful. _What am I thinking?_ She must be having an effect on me. All that…sexual tension was rubbing off on her. Jeri groaned inwardly at her choice of words.

 

“No,” Kate answered succinctly.

 

_Oh right, my question, forgot I asked that._

 

Kate’s eyes caught Jeri again and they stared at each other for what seemed a long time, then before Jeri could get a grasp of the situation Kate was advancing on her. Not just her normal two steps, but long, determined strides that brought her within breathing distance in seconds. Jeri didn’t just swallow this time, she gulped.

 

“Jeri,” Kate breathed her name onto her face, looking up at her.

 

“Y-yes.” Jeri’s mind was telling her to run, but she couldn’t seem to get the thought to her legs. The only thing she could think of was the way Kate was looking at her, practically devouring her alive with those sapphire eyes.

 

“If you want me to stop, just say so,” Kate whispered, close enough to feel their body heat mingling together.

 

“Stop what,” Jeri managed to breath out.

 

“This,” Kate said.

 

Then she reached up with her right hand, cupping Jeri’s cheek in her palm and brought those beautiful, full lips to her own. The kiss was electric. Both thought they heard the air around them crackle. When their tongues touched they both moaned at the contact. The kiss was exquisite, pure bliss. When it ended they were both breathing a little heavier and staring at each other with growing desire.

 

Then what Jeri had wanted to happen a few minutes ago occurred, someone else walked into the restroom causing Kate to move back towards the sinks, turning the water on and running her hands under it. Jeri still stood there, stunned. This was a turn of events she could never have predicted.

 

When the stranger entered a stall Kate dried her hands and walked back to the stunned Jeri.

 

“This never happened,” she said, the desire gone, her voice now distant. Then she turned on her heel and walked out.

 

Jeri was going to pass out. She was positive, she didn’t know how she was still standing. She had just been kissed senseless by Kate Mulgrew who then proceeded to tell her it never happened. She felt like screaming, crying, but most of all she was furious. What the hell did Kate think she was doing! She stormed out of the restroom searching for Kate, when she didn’t find her she ask the host of the function if he had seen her. He told her she left moments ago. Jeri asked if she were with anyone and when he answered in the negative she retrieved her coat and left as well. She was going to Kate’s house, this was not over, far from it!

 

When she pulled up to Kate’s house she knew Kate had only arrived moments before because the gates were still open. Kate hadn’t had the chance to shut them yet. Jeri had sped all the way here, hoping to arrive before Kate could close them because she feared she would not be let in if it were left to Kate’s choice. She floored it inside just as the gates started to swing shut. She watched as Kate was struggling with the key to unlock her house. She braked to a screeching halt behind Kate’s own car and jumped out of her car, slamming the door hard behind her. Kate jumped at the squeal of tires and turned around, dropping her keys. Her eyes went wide when she saw an angry Jeri Ryan storming toward her.

 

“What the hell was that all about?” Jeri shouted, infuriated.

 

Kate was speechless, she didn’t know what to say for once. No sarcastic, witty comeback occurred to her. Instead what did occur to her was how utterly erotic Jeri looked angry. She shook her head slightly trying to dispel the thought, now was certainly not the time. How could she have let this happen? Why did she have to drink that damned wine? What the hell had Jeri been doing there anyway? She finally regained herself somewhat.

 

“I told you, it never happened,” her voice firm, leaving no room for argument, but Jeri had every intention of arguing it.

 

“Never happened. You can’t be serious! I was _there_ Kate, I felt it happen! How in the hell am I supposed to forget it?”

 

Jeri was pissed beyond words. She wanted to strangle this woman, to slap her senseless, to yell that she can’t just play with people’s emotions, but most of all she wanted to kiss her again. She had been making steady progress towards Kate and now stood directly in front of her, looking down into her again desire filled eyes.

 

“Jeri, please, just go home, forget it happened, we will both be better off.”

 

“Like hell!”

 

They stood staring at each other, Jeri’s body heaving in rage, Kate’s heaving in something else entirely. Kate had controlled her feelings for this woman for nearly four years, it was bound to come crashing down around her sometime. They reached for each other simultaneously, their lips mashing together hard, tongues seeking and finding. They wrapped around each other, clinging desperately for reasons neither could explain.

 

“Keys,” Jeri got out around Kate’s mouth.

 

“Dropped ‘em.”

 

Jeri broke the kiss, grabbed the keys off the ground, slotted them in the lock and turned. As soon as she had the door open she pulled Kate inside and began where she left off. The house was dark, no one else home, and it smelled of Kate. Jeri breathed deeply, wanting to memorize every second of this. Kate had stopped protesting, Jeri stopped questioning, both granted each other access to their bodies. Words were something they would worry about later.

 

At 2am, five hours later, they lay satiated and content in each other’s arms.

 

“I thought you hated me,” Jeri finally said, breaking the silence that had settled around them. It had been a comfortable silence, but they needed to talk.

 

Kate’s chuckle was deep and resonating, “That’s what everyone thinks, that’s what I want them to think.”

 

Jeri propped herself up on one elbow, “What do you mean?”

 

Kate sighed. She had never planned for this to happen. Voyager was going to be over in six months, she had only needed to make it through six more months and then she could have ran as far away from Jeri as she could. Six months! Damn it! She couldn’t say she regretted it, but god, it was going to be so incredibly complicated.

 

“I’ve never hated you Jeri, I know I’ve given that impression,” Jeri snorted, “I had to. What was I supposed to do? From the moment you walked on the set I was blown away by you. Initially it was just physical, I didn’t know you from a bar of soap, so I couldn’t be impressed with anything else. I was disgusted with myself believe me…”Kate’s voice trailed off as she caught the hurt look on Jeri’s face, “No, let me explain that, it didn’t come out right. I was disgusted that I was being so shallow, judging you like that, only by your looks. The attraction I felt for you was strong, I couldn’t deny it even then no matter how hard I tried. I certainly couldn’t act on it though, you were married, I was involved, we’re both women, actresses, on a family oriented show; it would have ruined both our careers and I didn’t even know if you would have been interested. So, I did what I thought was best, I acted. I acted like I hated you for coming onto the show, hated what you represented, I couldn’t think of anything else to do. I’d watch you in the camera though, I couldn’t deny myself that little indulgence and you captivated me even more. You really are a brilliant actress,” Kate turned to look at her, wanting her to know she was serious.

 

Jeri blushed brightly, Kate couldn’t see it in the dark so Jeri whispered a quiet, “Thank you.”

 

“Even with the animosity I created between us I still got to know you somewhat. It’s impossible not to working with the same people day in day out and the more I got to know about you, the more attracted I became. I have an iron will though and I fought it with every ounce of strength I had, I focused the energy of the attraction I felt for you onto the friction I kept creating between us instead and then I got married. I was sure that once I was married the attraction would fade, I would settle into married life and forget about anything I ever felt toward you. For a while I even thought it worked,” Kate laughed out loud at herself then, “it only lasted a couple months and those were the months we were on hiatus. As soon as I saw you again I knew what I felt hadn’t gone anywhere. At that point I concluded again that I needed to find a way to stop it. You were now involved with Braga, I was married, I mean, it was insane. For almost four years I controlled it, better than controlled it, I acted whenever I was around you. Everyone was convinced I hated you just as I wanted.”

 

“So what happened tonight then?” Jeri asked. She could scarcely believe what Kate was telling her, but it did indeed all add up. The pieces clicked together perfectly and made a lot more sense than this hatred she had thought Kate had for her. She had never understood how someone as professional as Kate could treat her as she did. Now she did.

 

Kate shook her head in the dark, “I don’t know. I didn’t even know you were going to be there. I had gone into the rest room to just get a breather and then you walked out of that stall. It was the last thing I was expecting. I had actually been thinking about you earlier and when you were suddenly there, it was just too much. We were alone for the first time in…well, ever I think. I would never have allowed myself to be alone with you before. I had also been drinking quite a bit….”

 

Kate felt more then saw Jeri’s glare directed at her and hastened to explain.

 

“I’m not blaming my behaviour on that, believe me, I’m just saying it allowed me to act on desires I normally never would have.”

 

“I got that bit,” Jeri said, “what I’m not happy with is drinking and driving.”

 

Moonlight now shown through the window, illuminating the stern face looking down at her. _God, she looks like an angel_ Kate thought. “I know, I normally never do that. I was just so shaken after our encounter in the restroom. It’s not a good excuse, but I just needed to get out of there. I needed to breath and I could barely stand with you in the room.”

 

“I know the feeling,” Jeri replied, chuckling lightly.

 

“I’m so sorry, Jeri,” Kate whispered, looking up into that beautiful, smiling face.

 

Jeri caressed her cheek, “I know you are, I can see that. I wish things could have been different from the start, but I understand.”

 

Kate couldn’t believe Jeri was forgiving her so easily. God, this woman was more amazing then she had previously thought. Kate was sure she didn’t deserve to be so easily forgiven, but she wasn’t going to ask for punishment.

 

“Had you ever…felt anything for me before, or is this all new to you?” Kate asked slowly, hesitantly.

 

Jeri sighed and flopped down on her back, “Yes, I had. I never thought for a moment that you would reciprocate of course with how much I thought you hated me. It was probably easier for me than you really. Since I thought you hated me it was easier to push my feelings away, it’s rather hard to keep feelings strongly for someone when you think they hate you,” Jeri wryly said. “I must admit, I always wondered what was going on between us though. I mean, outwardly you hated me, but no one could deny the chemistry that is created between us on screen. I’ve never had sparks like that with anyone on screen before, not that strongly or blatantly.”

 

Kate smiled, “Janeway allowed me as close as I could get to you, until now that is. I’ve always envied that woman.” Kate laughed at the absurdity of her statement, Jeri just smiled.

 

“What do we do now?” Jeri asked.

 

Back in the present Jeri watched Kate pace. They had decided to keep up the façade. In public Kate would keep acting like she hated Jeri, nothing would change to the outside world. While Jeri was now single, Kate was still married, the show was still on, they still had their careers to consider. In their own private world they spent as much time as possible together. Secret rendezvous’ when Alex, Jeri’s son was away for the night. Meeting at Kate’s house when Tim and the boys were not there and of course in their trailers at Paramount. Jeri had felt very uncomfortable with the idea of Kate cheating on Tim, of being the other woman, but Kate said she couldn’t risk divorcing him while Voyager was still in syndication. She couldn’t risk, for both their sakes, him finding out the truth of why she wanted the divorce. Jeri was also very uncomfortable with the idea of Kate still sleeping with Tim, but she assured Jeri that while they still shared the same bed, it was more for comfort then for anything else. They had not had sex in eight months and neither husband nor wife had broached the topic, both apparently content with the change. Kate explained to Jeri she had actually been pleased with the change as the whole act with him was not at all satisfying for her and whether or not Tim really was content she didn’t want to know. So, albeit reluctantly on a few issues, Jeri had agreed to everything.

 

Now she started to think maybe she had been a fool. Maybe Kate had only been using her these six months, the thought made her stomach clench in pain, she didn’t think she could deal with that. Kate still hadn’t answered her after fifteen minutes though, still pacing and Jeri was starting to worry. Maybe Kate was trying to think of a way to tell her to get lost. Nothing over the last six months made her think that, but Kate was a good actress. She hated herself for the thought, but she had to admit as great as the last six months had been, neither had made any great declaration of love. Sometimes due to schedules they didn’t see each other privately for weeks and when they did it was often filled with ripping each other’s clothes off as quickly as possible and having wild, passionate, mind-blowing sex. For all those reasons Jeri had come to Kate’s trailer today to tell her they needed to stop, or at least stop until they worked out what they were going to do now. The plan had been tolerable for a time, but now Voyager was ending and they would have no excuse to be near each other. Jeri also found herself understanding that this was not enough for her anymore. She wanted Kate to herself, even if she wasn’t sleeping with Tim anymore she was sharing a life with him, a life Jeri desperately wanted to share with Kate. She knew what she wanted wouldn’t be easy for either one of them, but goddamn it, she was in love with Kate and that was more important to her than her own career. She knew how driven Kate was though and she knew there was every chance Kate would not feel the same. It wasn’t about money for Kate, they both had enough money not to have to worry for the rest of their lives, for Kate, Jeri knew it was about acting itself. Jeri didn’t know if in six months she could become more important then that.

 

“I don’t know.”

 

Jeri looked up sharply from her reverie. Kate had stopped pacing and was standing in front of her looking rather defeated.

 

“I don’t know what to do about us now,” Kate shook her head.

 

Jeri closed her eyes, pain resonating within her at Kate’s words.

 

“I told you we had to stop,” Jeri said hoarsely, fighting back tears, “I told you that as soon as you had be back up against the wall again. Damn it, Kate, why didn’t you listen to me! I can’t take this anymore. I can’t!” Jeri shouted, rising from the couch and pacing the floor herself now. “I can’t take making love with you one minute and then not being able to touch you again for weeks. And yes,” she said turning to look at Kate, “it is _making love_ to me. I can’t take the idea of you still sharing your life with Tim, being his wife! I can’t take…I can’t take any of it anymore!” She stopped her pacing and embraced the anger she felt. Anger was preferable to the pain. She stalked to the door and grabbed the handle, set to yank it open when Kate was suddenly on her, grabbing her wrist.

 

“No, please, Jeri, don’t leave like this,” Kate begged.

 

Jeri turned to issue a sharp retort to her, but when she looked into her eyes she stopped. She saw her own pain reflected there.

 

“I can’t lose you, Jeri,” Kate admitted softly, her voice quavering on the verge of tears.

 

“You don’t have to lose me,” Jeri responded, turning from the door and reaching her arms around Kate, embracing her fiercely. “You never have to lose me,” she whispered into her hair.

 

“It’s making love for me too,” Kate confessed, a tear sliding down her cheek, soaking into Jeri’s robe.

 

Jeri breathed a sigh of relief she hadn’t realized she had been holding. It was the closest they had come to telling each other they were in love and for now it was close enough. They would find a way to be together, a way they could both live with. 


End file.
